The chapters are focused on how the teacher can make sure that he is judging everyone equitably. What to do about work that has not been completed and what to write on report cards and how to give grades. The author makes it known that a 4.0 grading scale is of more use than a percentage scale. A 4.0 scale can be easily broken down into grades. An item not completed would receive a 1.0 on this scale. Therefore, the lowest score attainable would be a 1.0. This scale is useful for a couple reasons. A failing grade will be marked as the lowest possible score, a 1.0. In a percentage points grading system, there can be many gradations of failure (generally anything below a sixty). This does not make sense because a failure is a failure, and it should not matter by what degree the person failed.
Another thing to keep in mind when grading is also effort and achievement. Achievement in the differentiated classroom will be different for everybody, even if they end up mastering the same concepts. What needs to be taken into account is where they started from as well. The scenario explained in the book is about a student who starts two years behind grade level and ends up only half a year behind grade level. In the scenario, the students has come a long way to master the subjects he has missed, but he is still have a year behind the rest of the students. Should the teacher give the student a grade based on his standing to his classmates (a low grade) or should the teacher give him a grade based on his individual achievement (a high grade). The best answer I found in the book is to create a grading system in which both variables are represented. This can be done by using two scales, a regular A,B,C,D,F scale, by which academic achievement is based on where the student should be based on their grade level, and a scale of 1,2,3, in which students are given a higher number for achievement based on how much they have learned. The student in the scenario might achieve a grade of D3, meaning he came a long way but is still well behind his classmates.
The book also shows the importance of rubrics. Rubrics can be easily made on a 4 point scale, meaning they can be easily used on a 4.0 grading scale. Rubrics have the power to be a less subjective way of grading students. Rubrics also show what the student has to work on to achieve mastery, rather than just give them a letter with little information. The later chapter discusses report cards and how they can be trouble. Parents often want a very straightforward report card that tells them if their child is developing “normally”, an understandable thing for a parent to be worried about. In contrast, the simplicity of the report card is often challenged by the differentiating teacher who wants to give all students a fair shot and who can be paralyzed by a report card that is too simplistic.
Kiera Timme
Together, these four chapters delve deeper into the quagmire of grading policies and practices within our classroom. Grading is sensitive topic for teachers, administrators, students, and parents alike. Wormeli argues that if we are differentiating are instructional practices, then we must also incorporate differentiation into to our assessment and grading policies. In these chapters, Wormeli discusses both the pros and cons associated with different grading methods, such as the “zero versus sixty” debate, the 4.0 and 100 point scale, grade books, weighting grades, late work, and grading in inclusion classes. He also provides some suggestions as to the effective methods for the communication of students’ grades to the parties concerned – parents, and the students themselves. As a math teacher in the making, I found the discussion surrounding the 4.0 and 100 point scale really interesting. For me, I see merit in both methods but I am not convinced one approach is better than the other. I would prefer to use a combination. For example, if students were taking a traditional exam I would only lean towards the 100 point scale if I felt that I had a fair and equitable division of the points. I think it is important to be careful not to assign too many points to any single question. A student shouldn’t feel as though they have failed because they struggled to solve a problem or two. I would be inclined to use the 4.0 scale (or something similar) to grade product based work. In these cases I would create rubrics for each assignment so students understood the expectations. Moreover, I want to create a classroom environment which discourages grade obsession. I want a grading system that acknowledges more than just whether the standards have been met. Ideally, this would be a system where students could clearly see their areas of strengths and where they need improvement. Something that can provide clear information as to what they need to do to meet the standard. The text provides an example of a report card that does not assign an overall grade. I really like this idea, however; the current educational system seems to require a single grade as a clear marker of student mastery. I found myself having strong opinions about many of the grading related topics mentioned in these chapters. It seems to me that an increasing number of students place much of their self-worth in the grades they receive. As such, it is important that we, as teachers, heed the comments made by one of the contributors to the book that is that “grades as motivators breed dependency, reduce risk-taking, creativity and value.” We must shift away from a culture that uses grades to “motivate, punish, or sort students” (Wormeli, p103) and instead we need to cultivate a climate where grades are simply viewed as a tool to document progress, provide feedback, and “to inform our instructional decisions” (Wormeli, 173). I agree with the author that grades should reflect progress over time, and not represent a single snapshot of one moment. Grading in such a way isn’t a black and white process, but if we are to do our student’s work, and the idea of learning, justice, this seems to be both a fair and necessary practice. On a final note, I believe that any attempt at grading reform is unlikely to be successful until we reach a clearly articulated social consensus as to what our grading system and symbols truly say about student success.
Kaitlyn Bowie
The focus in this collection of chapter’s was on the many aspects of grading; both the grades themselves and the formatting in which you choose to record those grades. An important aspect talked about in chapter eleven was how big of a difference a sixty versus a zero can make on a student’s average grade. I was very torn on this aspect, because I never realized there was so much controversy within that particular subject. Part of me would want to give the sixty, mainly because I still want all of the student’s success to be reflected in their average, and not be bogged down by one grade. It just seems unfair, but I also don’t want to give the impression that student’s can skive off assignments and still expect to pass. In my own classroom I want to find a happy medium where I can still fairly show the student’s progress, but keep them academically honest as well.
Based on my own experience, I think I would have to say I am rather partial t the 4-point grading scale, though chapter twelve makes excellent arguments for both the 4-point and the 100-point grading system. I find the standard requirements for a 4-point grading scale are much easier to compact into a rubric, and the difference between a 3 and 4 can be made very clear when the teacher understands the standards that must be met. However, I have also seen how the 4-point scale can confuse parents, students, and teachers alike and can even cause students t become lazy in terms of what they need to pass. A 2.5 on a 4-point scale seems not as bad compared to a 40 out of 100-point scale.
However, as chapter thirteen talks about, the grade book formats can often be just as important as the grades themselves. My mentor teacher always makes sure to take the time to give precise feedback on her student’s work so that they understand why they received the grade they did. Part of me would want to use this and keep a digital record of that feedback, but I feel like that would create a lot of extra work for myself. Then again, if I did that for just big final assessment projects and tests, it would still allow me to keep track of what the student did and did not understand about that lesson or unit, and still keep my sanity. I feel my method is going to require a lot of careful trial and error, while simultaneously referring to grade book help books and my teaching colleagues that a lifeboat.
Whatever grade book method I choose to follow, I want to be a method that best helps me when it comes time for writing up report cards, a topic talked about in chapter fourteen. This is actually a piece that scares me when I think about running my own classroom because I know what often comes attached to them: angry parents. Nobody is perfect, though more often than not, parents are convinced that their children are. I want the report card to reflect the work the student has done so far, also makes it clear that the student can always improve and I will do all that I can to assist them, if they are willing to put in the extra work. Overall grading is something I am not looking forward to, but much like the dentist, it is a part of life that truly does help everyone, teachers, students, and parents, in the long run.
Jon Delorme
FIAE 11, 12, 13, 14
There are two sides of teaching. On one side we are the educators and motivators. We encourage students to do their best, befriend them, and teach them valuable lessons. On the other side we are their evaluators and authority figures. On this side we almost have to act with the mind of a businessman. These four chapters lean more towards how teachers should conduct the business aspect of their profession. Chapter 11 is about six different glaring questions teachers often have that are usually controversial. One that stood out for me is whether or not to put in a zero for a students’ incomplete work. Wormeli suggests that educators put in a 60 for incomplete work and reasons that is fair because a zero is too much of a negative. Now, maybe I’m just old school, but a zero is way more motivating in getting students to finish work than a 60. The message behind his book is that it is not being easy on the student but rather just fair. But, I just think giving a student a 60 is too soft and my teachers never did that for me. Another business topic that a teacher needs to consider is what kind of grading scale to implement in their classroom, which is discussed in Chapter 12. Personally, I like how a 100-point scale sounds. It is not that I dislike classes that use a 4.0 scale or any other sort of scale. I just think a 100-point scale is more straightforward and makes it easier to understand one’s grade.
The last two chapters concern how a teacher can format their grade books and report cards in a differentiated classroom. When I first started learning the teaching profession I was so naïve to how much time must be spent considering things such as these. As a student I never took notice of how the teacher was structuring their grade book or how they created report cards. I do like the idea of grading both personal progress and achievement against standards. I feel like students and teachers always want to know why they or their child got the grade they did. I want my report cards and grade book to be as straightforward and simple as possible. I think it would be valuable to include a portion of the report card that allowed for personal comments about the individual student. They used to always do this up through middle school and then report cards become more vague and less user friendly in high school. I want to let the teachers and students know that I will be on their side, and I think people would appreciate seeing a report card that showed some effort in it.
Tori Penney
How are we supposed to assign a number to our students learning? How can a teacher truly measure a students mastery or ability to learn on a precentage scale? How can this number define where a student gets placed, what their academic future will be like, and what opportunities they will recieve? Grading has always been something that has flown over my head. I don't know how I will grade my students, I don't think I'll probably be comfortable with it until I have been a teacher for a few years, because it will be a back and forth game as I try to figure it out. I know I want to grade my students on how hard they try, but that doesn't reflect their mastery.
Chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14 of Fair Isn't Always Equal are all about these numbers--grades and how they should be done. Many different methods are encouraged, such as using 60's in the place of zeros, something I strongly agree with. I believe that giving a student a zero negatively effects their over all grade. Students don't deserve to be forever punished for one assignment that they missed or just couldn't complete for whatever reason. It just doesn't seem fair. The book even goes as far as to show a teacher how to set up their grade books to emphasize and clarify what the student is being graded on or how they are being graded. Personally, I find Figure 13.3, a grade book set up by the weight of the assignment, to be very appealing. Math is something that has always alluded me, and this will make it easier for me to understand. But I know that if I am a teacher in Maine, I will be using power school, and it will do the math for me. So I would probably use a set up like that of Figure 13.1, a grade book set up by standards, that way I could easily show and explain to students and parents what their grades are based on. Wormeli also goes into late work, and how we should grade late work, if at all. He encourages accepting grade work and not docking it off grades, such as a grade off for every day it is late. I agree that this seems arbitrary and unnecessary. I believe that as a teacher I will make it very clear that I am concerned with the quality of the work, and not when it is turned in or how long or lengthy it is. I will tell my students that late work is allowed, but it will be docked one letter grade, and that is it. If a student emails or contacts me ahead of time and explains with good reasoning why they cannot complete the work on time, even if its just that they don't have the time, I will allow it late without docking it the grade. It just seems so arbitrary to me.
Tess Perry
To accurately assess student progression, development and mastery through the use of grades is no easy task. Chapters 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Fair isn’t always Equal discuss this very issue, focusing on what grading scales to use, what and how to record grades in a grade book and how to report grades on student’s report cards as well as common grading concerns. The two grading scales discussed were a 100-point and 4.0 scale. The 100-point scale is represented by traditional percentages. An issue with this type of grading system is how to record zeros, if a student does not do an assignment. Recording a zero as opposed to a 60 does not make sense mathematically. All other grades (A-D) have 10 to 11 point ranges, while an F ranges from 0 to 60. It is extremely difficult for a student to bounce back after getting a zero, a data point like that can skew the entire grade spread. Therefore recording a 60 is more accurate, and the student is still getting an F for not doing assigned work. The 4.0 scale is generally used with a rubric, which provides room for feedback but can also be time consuming and if over used students and parents may just begin to equate 4 to and A, 3 to a B and so on rather than referring to the specific feedback provided on rubrics.
Once assignments are graded determining grade book format and structure to accurately represent individual student progression, development, work and mastery is the next step. In differentiated classrooms this necessitates clear record keeping ensuring students level of mastery of standards is recorded accurately. Not all students may demonstrate content knowledge equally. I think that the means through which mastery is demonstrated should not affect final grade, just the fact that mastery is either shown or not yet shown. This may prove challenging when reporting grades on a report card. To allow for student, parent and other teacher understanding of a student’s knowledge and mastery of standards requires clear and accurate report cards. Several options for grade book format, grading scales and report card format were provided in these four chapters. It was helpful to get an introduction to the different methods, since I do not know where I will be teaching in the future and I am sure each school district has different grading and reporting policies. I found the explanation of using 60’s instead of zeros to be very insightful. It now makes sense to me to give a student a 60, which is still an F which is a failing grade, but it could be easier for that student to improve from a 60 rather than a zero. I also think rubrics can be useful tools for grading as well as providing specific feedback for students and parents. It is more informative than just receiving a number or letter grade.
Amy Jones
These 4 chapters in FIAE have the same prominent theme and that is grading. Each chapter talks about different ways to grade and or different ideas to think about while grading. One chapter talks about how as teachers need to decide whether we give students zero or sixties. I personally believe that if a students doesn’t do an assignment then a zero needs to be the grade we assign. I do believe in extra credit assignments for those students that do need the extra help but if we just give kids sixties we aren’t really showing them real world consequences. If you do not due what your employer tells you to do, you don’t just get a freebee because you were there you get fired. They also address whether we should use a 4.0 scale or a 100 point scale. As a student in middle school this idea of a 4.0 scale was introduced. I personally hated it. I didn’t understand why we were just striving to be proficient and why only some could be outstanding. I think that the 100 point scale gives the students a chance to feel proud of their work. Giving a student a 4.0 doesn’t feel the same as a 100! Different grading book styles were introduced in one of the chapters. The grading book style that seems to make the most sense to me is the one that had the assignment due dates along with the name of the assignment. I feel as though this would be a great way for the teacher and the students to stay organized. I also feel as though the grading book should be as up to date as possible, therefore letting the students know what is due next and to see if they have missed any work. This helps the teacher stay organized as well in reference to any late work that students may owe. The final area that these chapters address were repot cards. This is where we as teachers can decide how we want to reveal their understanding to their parents and to the kids. I think that progress reports should reflect how the students are meeting the standards that are being addressed in the class. So having progress reports showing the 4.0 scale would be relevant. Yet I do feel that progress reports should also show the students consistency with keeping up with the work that is being assigned that way the parents can help manage this as well. As a teacher we are responsible for giving students the knowledge and the resources for them to further their knowledge. I do feel as though parents should be a second enforcer. Students should rarely have no homework, so as parents when our kids say this, we need to be sure that this is actually the case. If teacher and parents are both being proactive the students will have an even better chance to succeed as they were meant to do.
Molly Olsen
Grades seem to be at the top of the totem pole when it comes to secondary education. Whether it's how we come to the number or letter, record the number or letter, or how we choose to portray that grade on the report card, they seem to be of incredibly high importance. Grades are meant to show a level of mastery of a certain subject or aspect of school, and although many have been using the same general A, B, C etc. spectrum for years, the real meaning of the grades have begun to get lost in translation from teacher to parent to student.
With the competitive nature of today's society, in particular in the collegiate domain, parent's (and often students) appear to care more about what grade is stamped on a piece of paper than exactly how much learning was done or information attained. When the point of school is to be a mark on a resume instead of a place of genuine understanding and broadening minds, then you know there's a problem with the way we're doing things. But how do we change this? The chapters offered a few thoughts and ideas on this.
Firstly there's the grades themselves. One issue discussed is how to handle a non-completed assignment. The book suggests that instead of recording a zero, that we put in 60 because it gives a truer sense of the level of understanding the student achieved. For instance, say a student had two homework assignments on the same couple of general ideas, and while they forget to complete one, they get a 99 on the other sheet. So, if you average the 99 and a 0 together you get about a 50. But does the student really having a failure to understand the subject of the homework? No. And while some will argue that students will simply decide not to do ANY work if they'll always get some sort of score, the book says this isn't so, as what is the point in bragging that you failed something?
Then there's the actual grading scale. Some states consider an 80 an A, while others consider it a B- or even a C+. But this isn't the only inconsistency. As from teacher to teacher expectations differ, kids become unsure of what an "A" paper really truly looks like. It's suggested that a 4-point scale might actually lead to more consistency, but because that's not the "traditional way" it's not certain if this will truly ever take over.
There are many ways to keep a grade book, but the most important thing that this document can do, is give a clear answer as to what your students are succeeding or struggling in. If we keep comments alongside grades we would be able to use them to determine a final overall grade as well as put the sentiments on report cards. If parents and students can see from our comments what exactly a student achieved or needs to work on, they have a fuller understanding of the grade and are less likely to question or try to fight it.
Caroline Murphy
Chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal discuss how teachers need to take differentiated grading further than just assessment on an individual assignment, and instead extend it all the way to report cards and course grades. There are many complicated issues at stake when it comes to grading, and keeping with the themes addressed thus far, the chapters aimed to instruct teachers on how to make sure that all grades are indicators of content mastery. When it comes to matters of assigning zeros for missing work, grading gifted and special education students, and weighting grades for example, it is most important that grades give accurate representation of a student’s individual progress and find ways to exclude extraneous factors that can negatively skew a grade. To this affect, Wormeli suggests using the less-common 4.0 scale because it gives more room for personalization of a student’s specific content achievement. He also contends that grade books should be heavily revised, replacing what he sees as arbitrary A’s, B’s, and C’s with indicators of whether a student has reached particular benchmarks and standards. This can be done by listing grades according to topics of understanding and goals that a teacher wants their students to accomplish during a particular unit. Because it can be difficult to make both students and parents aware of important information about what goes into tabulating this kind of adjusting grading, Wormeli suggests including extra comments and asterisks on a traditional report card and finding ways to incorporate a grade for individual student progress throughout the course of the year.
A lot of what we have read about this semester is very different from the kind of education I was raised on, and that made it difficult for me to see the practical applications of all of it and made me skeptical of how effective it could really be. But now that I’ve been in the field, I can see how everything becomes real when it is applied to a high school classroom. Meeting standards and personal progress really do matter more than A’s and B’s, and those letters and numbers do very little to give accurate feedback on how are students learning. When I become a teacher, I want to be one who is able to really help them learn things, and a big part of that is giving accurate grades that can move the learning process forward instead of stunt it, which is what happens when students put in hard work but are rewarding with only mediocre grades. The current grading system really is convoluted and inaccurate, and it is up to modern teachers to change it for the better. As a teacher, I will try my best to put into place systems that reward adequate content mastery and put emphasis on understanding tangible, practical concepts. Improving the way grades are reported also helps get parents more involved in education by giving them access to feedback that they can understand, and parental participation does wonders for a child’s achievement.
Table of Contents
Frank Makuch
The chapters are focused on how the teacher can make sure that he is judging everyone equitably. What to do about work that has not been completed and what to write on report cards and how to give grades. The author makes it known that a 4.0 grading scale is of more use than a percentage scale. A 4.0 scale can be easily broken down into grades. An item not completed would receive a 1.0 on this scale. Therefore, the lowest score attainable would be a 1.0. This scale is useful for a couple reasons. A failing grade will be marked as the lowest possible score, a 1.0. In a percentage points grading system, there can be many gradations of failure (generally anything below a sixty). This does not make sense because a failure is a failure, and it should not matter by what degree the person failed.Another thing to keep in mind when grading is also effort and achievement. Achievement in the differentiated classroom will be different for everybody, even if they end up mastering the same concepts. What needs to be taken into account is where they started from as well. The scenario explained in the book is about a student who starts two years behind grade level and ends up only half a year behind grade level. In the scenario, the students has come a long way to master the subjects he has missed, but he is still have a year behind the rest of the students. Should the teacher give the student a grade based on his standing to his classmates (a low grade) or should the teacher give him a grade based on his individual achievement (a high grade). The best answer I found in the book is to create a grading system in which both variables are represented. This can be done by using two scales, a regular A,B,C,D,F scale, by which academic achievement is based on where the student should be based on their grade level, and a scale of 1,2,3, in which students are given a higher number for achievement based on how much they have learned. The student in the scenario might achieve a grade of D3, meaning he came a long way but is still well behind his classmates.
The book also shows the importance of rubrics. Rubrics can be easily made on a 4 point scale, meaning they can be easily used on a 4.0 grading scale. Rubrics have the power to be a less subjective way of grading students. Rubrics also show what the student has to work on to achieve mastery, rather than just give them a letter with little information. The later chapter discusses report cards and how they can be trouble. Parents often want a very straightforward report card that tells them if their child is developing “normally”, an understandable thing for a parent to be worried about. In contrast, the simplicity of the report card is often challenged by the differentiating teacher who wants to give all students a fair shot and who can be paralyzed by a report card that is too simplistic.
Kiera Timme
Together, these four chapters delve deeper into the quagmire of grading policies and practices within our classroom. Grading is sensitive topic for teachers, administrators, students, and parents alike. Wormeli argues that if we are differentiating are instructional practices, then we must also incorporate differentiation into to our assessment and grading policies. In these chapters, Wormeli discusses both the pros and cons associated with different grading methods, such as the “zero versus sixty” debate, the 4.0 and 100 point scale, grade books, weighting grades, late work, and grading in inclusion classes. He also provides some suggestions as to the effective methods for the communication of students’ grades to the parties concerned – parents, and the students themselves.As a math teacher in the making, I found the discussion surrounding the 4.0 and 100 point scale really interesting. For me, I see merit in both methods but I am not convinced one approach is better than the other. I would prefer to use a combination. For example, if students were taking a traditional exam I would only lean towards the 100 point scale if I felt that I had a fair and equitable division of the points. I think it is important to be careful not to assign too many points to any single question. A student shouldn’t feel as though they have failed because they struggled to solve a problem or two. I would be inclined to use the 4.0 scale (or something similar) to grade product based work. In these cases I would create rubrics for each assignment so students understood the expectations. Moreover, I want to create a classroom environment which discourages grade obsession. I want a grading system that acknowledges more than just whether the standards have been met. Ideally, this would be a system where students could clearly see their areas of strengths and where they need improvement. Something that can provide clear information as to what they need to do to meet the standard. The text provides an example of a report card that does not assign an overall grade. I really like this idea, however; the current educational system seems to require a single grade as a clear marker of student mastery.
I found myself having strong opinions about many of the grading related topics mentioned in these chapters. It seems to me that an increasing number of students place much of their self-worth in the grades they receive. As such, it is important that we, as teachers, heed the comments made by one of the contributors to the book that is that “grades as motivators breed dependency, reduce risk-taking, creativity and value.” We must shift away from a culture that uses grades to “motivate, punish, or sort students” (Wormeli, p103) and instead we need to cultivate a climate where grades are simply viewed as a tool to document progress, provide feedback, and “to inform our instructional decisions” (Wormeli, 173). I agree with the author that grades should reflect progress over time, and not represent a single snapshot of one moment. Grading in such a way isn’t a black and white process, but if we are to do our student’s work, and the idea of learning, justice, this seems to be both a fair and necessary practice. On a final note, I believe that any attempt at grading reform is unlikely to be successful until we reach a clearly articulated social consensus as to what our grading system and symbols truly say about student success.
Kaitlyn Bowie
The focus in this collection of chapter’s was on the many aspects of grading; both the grades themselves and the formatting in which you choose to record those grades. An important aspect talked about in chapter eleven was how big of a difference a sixty versus a zero can make on a student’s average grade. I was very torn on this aspect, because I never realized there was so much controversy within that particular subject. Part of me would want to give the sixty, mainly because I still want all of the student’s success to be reflected in their average, and not be bogged down by one grade. It just seems unfair, but I also don’t want to give the impression that student’s can skive off assignments and still expect to pass. In my own classroom I want to find a happy medium where I can still fairly show the student’s progress, but keep them academically honest as well.Based on my own experience, I think I would have to say I am rather partial t the 4-point grading scale, though chapter twelve makes excellent arguments for both the 4-point and the 100-point grading system. I find the standard requirements for a 4-point grading scale are much easier to compact into a rubric, and the difference between a 3 and 4 can be made very clear when the teacher understands the standards that must be met. However, I have also seen how the 4-point scale can confuse parents, students, and teachers alike and can even cause students t become lazy in terms of what they need to pass. A 2.5 on a 4-point scale seems not as bad compared to a 40 out of 100-point scale.
However, as chapter thirteen talks about, the grade book formats can often be just as important as the grades themselves. My mentor teacher always makes sure to take the time to give precise feedback on her student’s work so that they understand why they received the grade they did. Part of me would want to use this and keep a digital record of that feedback, but I feel like that would create a lot of extra work for myself. Then again, if I did that for just big final assessment projects and tests, it would still allow me to keep track of what the student did and did not understand about that lesson or unit, and still keep my sanity. I feel my method is going to require a lot of careful trial and error, while simultaneously referring to grade book help books and my teaching colleagues that a lifeboat.
Whatever grade book method I choose to follow, I want to be a method that best helps me when it comes time for writing up report cards, a topic talked about in chapter fourteen. This is actually a piece that scares me when I think about running my own classroom because I know what often comes attached to them: angry parents. Nobody is perfect, though more often than not, parents are convinced that their children are. I want the report card to reflect the work the student has done so far, also makes it clear that the student can always improve and I will do all that I can to assist them, if they are willing to put in the extra work. Overall grading is something I am not looking forward to, but much like the dentist, it is a part of life that truly does help everyone, teachers, students, and parents, in the long run.
Jon Delorme
FIAE 11, 12, 13, 14
There are two sides of teaching. On one side we are the educators and motivators. We encourage students to do their best, befriend them, and teach them valuable lessons. On the other side we are their evaluators and authority figures. On this side we almost have to act with the mind of a businessman. These four chapters lean more towards how teachers should conduct the business aspect of their profession. Chapter 11 is about six different glaring questions teachers often have that are usually controversial. One that stood out for me is whether or not to put in a zero for a students’ incomplete work. Wormeli suggests that educators put in a 60 for incomplete work and reasons that is fair because a zero is too much of a negative. Now, maybe I’m just old school, but a zero is way more motivating in getting students to finish work than a 60. The message behind his book is that it is not being easy on the student but rather just fair. But, I just think giving a student a 60 is too soft and my teachers never did that for me. Another business topic that a teacher needs to consider is what kind of grading scale to implement in their classroom, which is discussed in Chapter 12. Personally, I like how a 100-point scale sounds. It is not that I dislike classes that use a 4.0 scale or any other sort of scale. I just think a 100-point scale is more straightforward and makes it easier to understand one’s grade.
The last two chapters concern how a teacher can format their grade books and report cards in a differentiated classroom. When I first started learning the teaching profession I was so naïve to how much time must be spent considering things such as these. As a student I never took notice of how the teacher was structuring their grade book or how they created report cards. I do like the idea of grading both personal progress and achievement against standards. I feel like students and teachers always want to know why they or their child got the grade they did. I want my report cards and grade book to be as straightforward and simple as possible. I think it would be valuable to include a portion of the report card that allowed for personal comments about the individual student. They used to always do this up through middle school and then report cards become more vague and less user friendly in high school. I want to let the teachers and students know that I will be on their side, and I think people would appreciate seeing a report card that showed some effort in it.
Tori Penney
How are we supposed to assign a number to our students learning? How can a teacher truly measure a students mastery or ability to learn on a precentage scale? How can this number define where a student gets placed, what their academic future will be like, and what opportunities they will recieve? Grading has always been something that has flown over my head. I don't know how I will grade my students, I don't think I'll probably be comfortable with it until I have been a teacher for a few years, because it will be a back and forth game as I try to figure it out. I know I want to grade my students on how hard they try, but that doesn't reflect their mastery.Chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14 of Fair Isn't Always Equal are all about these numbers--grades and how they should be done. Many different methods are encouraged, such as using 60's in the place of zeros, something I strongly agree with. I believe that giving a student a zero negatively effects their over all grade. Students don't deserve to be forever punished for one assignment that they missed or just couldn't complete for whatever reason. It just doesn't seem fair. The book even goes as far as to show a teacher how to set up their grade books to emphasize and clarify what the student is being graded on or how they are being graded. Personally, I find Figure 13.3, a grade book set up by the weight of the assignment, to be very appealing. Math is something that has always alluded me, and this will make it easier for me to understand. But I know that if I am a teacher in Maine, I will be using power school, and it will do the math for me. So I would probably use a set up like that of Figure 13.1, a grade book set up by standards, that way I could easily show and explain to students and parents what their grades are based on. Wormeli also goes into late work, and how we should grade late work, if at all. He encourages accepting grade work and not docking it off grades, such as a grade off for every day it is late. I agree that this seems arbitrary and unnecessary. I believe that as a teacher I will make it very clear that I am concerned with the quality of the work, and not when it is turned in or how long or lengthy it is. I will tell my students that late work is allowed, but it will be docked one letter grade, and that is it. If a student emails or contacts me ahead of time and explains with good reasoning why they cannot complete the work on time, even if its just that they don't have the time, I will allow it late without docking it the grade. It just seems so arbitrary to me.
Tess Perry
To accurately assess student progression, development and mastery through the use of grades is no easy task. Chapters 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Fair isn’t always Equal discuss this very issue, focusing on what grading scales to use, what and how to record grades in a grade book and how to report grades on student’s report cards as well as common grading concerns. The two grading scales discussed were a 100-point and 4.0 scale. The 100-point scale is represented by traditional percentages. An issue with this type of grading system is how to record zeros, if a student does not do an assignment. Recording a zero as opposed to a 60 does not make sense mathematically. All other grades (A-D) have 10 to 11 point ranges, while an F ranges from 0 to 60. It is extremely difficult for a student to bounce back after getting a zero, a data point like that can skew the entire grade spread. Therefore recording a 60 is more accurate, and the student is still getting an F for not doing assigned work. The 4.0 scale is generally used with a rubric, which provides room for feedback but can also be time consuming and if over used students and parents may just begin to equate 4 to and A, 3 to a B and so on rather than referring to the specific feedback provided on rubrics.
Once assignments are graded determining grade book format and structure to accurately represent individual student progression, development, work and mastery is the next step. In differentiated classrooms this necessitates clear record keeping ensuring students level of mastery of standards is recorded accurately. Not all students may demonstrate content knowledge equally. I think that the means through which mastery is demonstrated should not affect final grade, just the fact that mastery is either shown or not yet shown. This may prove challenging when reporting grades on a report card. To allow for student, parent and other teacher understanding of a student’s knowledge and mastery of standards requires clear and accurate report cards. Several options for grade book format, grading scales and report card format were provided in these four chapters. It was helpful to get an introduction to the different methods, since I do not know where I will be teaching in the future and I am sure each school district has different grading and reporting policies. I found the explanation of using 60’s instead of zeros to be very insightful. It now makes sense to me to give a student a 60, which is still an F which is a failing grade, but it could be easier for that student to improve from a 60 rather than a zero. I also think rubrics can be useful tools for grading as well as providing specific feedback for students and parents. It is more informative than just receiving a number or letter grade.
Amy Jones
These 4 chapters in FIAE have the same prominent theme and that is grading. Each chapter talks about different ways to grade and or different ideas to think about while grading. One chapter talks about how as teachers need to decide whether we give students zero or sixties. I personally believe that if a students doesn’t do an assignment then a zero needs to be the grade we assign. I do believe in extra credit assignments for those students that do need the extra help but if we just give kids sixties we aren’t really showing them real world consequences. If you do not due what your employer tells you to do, you don’t just get a freebee because you were there you get fired. They also address whether we should use a 4.0 scale or a 100 point scale. As a student in middle school this idea of a 4.0 scale was introduced. I personally hated it. I didn’t understand why we were just striving to be proficient and why only some could be outstanding. I think that the 100 point scale gives the students a chance to feel proud of their work. Giving a student a 4.0 doesn’t feel the same as a 100! Different grading book styles were introduced in one of the chapters. The grading book style that seems to make the most sense to me is the one that had the assignment due dates along with the name of the assignment. I feel as though this would be a great way for the teacher and the students to stay organized. I also feel as though the grading book should be as up to date as possible, therefore letting the students know what is due next and to see if they have missed any work. This helps the teacher stay organized as well in reference to any late work that students may owe. The final area that these chapters address were repot cards. This is where we as teachers can decide how we want to reveal their understanding to their parents and to the kids. I think that progress reports should reflect how the students are meeting the standards that are being addressed in the class. So having progress reports showing the 4.0 scale would be relevant. Yet I do feel that progress reports should also show the students consistency with keeping up with the work that is being assigned that way the parents can help manage this as well. As a teacher we are responsible for giving students the knowledge and the resources for them to further their knowledge. I do feel as though parents should be a second enforcer. Students should rarely have no homework, so as parents when our kids say this, we need to be sure that this is actually the case. If teacher and parents are both being proactive the students will have an even better chance to succeed as they were meant to do.Molly Olsen
Grades seem to be at the top of the totem pole when it comes to secondary education. Whether it's how we come to the number or letter, record the number or letter, or how we choose to portray that grade on the report card, they seem to be of incredibly high importance. Grades are meant to show a level of mastery of a certain subject or aspect of school, and although many have been using the same general A, B, C etc. spectrum for years, the real meaning of the grades have begun to get lost in translation from teacher to parent to student.With the competitive nature of today's society, in particular in the collegiate domain, parent's (and often students) appear to care more about what grade is stamped on a piece of paper than exactly how much learning was done or information attained. When the point of school is to be a mark on a resume instead of a place of genuine understanding and broadening minds, then you know there's a problem with the way we're doing things. But how do we change this? The chapters offered a few thoughts and ideas on this.
Firstly there's the grades themselves. One issue discussed is how to handle a non-completed assignment. The book suggests that instead of recording a zero, that we put in 60 because it gives a truer sense of the level of understanding the student achieved. For instance, say a student had two homework assignments on the same couple of general ideas, and while they forget to complete one, they get a 99 on the other sheet. So, if you average the 99 and a 0 together you get about a 50. But does the student really having a failure to understand the subject of the homework? No. And while some will argue that students will simply decide not to do ANY work if they'll always get some sort of score, the book says this isn't so, as what is the point in bragging that you failed something?
Then there's the actual grading scale. Some states consider an 80 an A, while others consider it a B- or even a C+. But this isn't the only inconsistency. As from teacher to teacher expectations differ, kids become unsure of what an "A" paper really truly looks like. It's suggested that a 4-point scale might actually lead to more consistency, but because that's not the "traditional way" it's not certain if this will truly ever take over.
There are many ways to keep a grade book, but the most important thing that this document can do, is give a clear answer as to what your students are succeeding or struggling in. If we keep comments alongside grades we would be able to use them to determine a final overall grade as well as put the sentiments on report cards. If parents and students can see from our comments what exactly a student achieved or needs to work on, they have a fuller understanding of the grade and are less likely to question or try to fight it.
Caroline Murphy
Chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal discuss how teachers need to take differentiated grading further than just assessment on an individual assignment, and instead extend it all the way to report cards and course grades. There are many complicated issues at stake when it comes to grading, and keeping with the themes addressed thus far, the chapters aimed to instruct teachers on how to make sure that all grades are indicators of content mastery. When it comes to matters of assigning zeros for missing work, grading gifted and special education students, and weighting grades for example, it is most important that grades give accurate representation of a student’s individual progress and find ways to exclude extraneous factors that can negatively skew a grade. To this affect, Wormeli suggests using the less-common 4.0 scale because it gives more room for personalization of a student’s specific content achievement. He also contends that grade books should be heavily revised, replacing what he sees as arbitrary A’s, B’s, and C’s with indicators of whether a student has reached particular benchmarks and standards. This can be done by listing grades according to topics of understanding and goals that a teacher wants their students to accomplish during a particular unit. Because it can be difficult to make both students and parents aware of important information about what goes into tabulating this kind of adjusting grading, Wormeli suggests including extra comments and asterisks on a traditional report card and finding ways to incorporate a grade for individual student progress throughout the course of the year.A lot of what we have read about this semester is very different from the kind of education I was raised on, and that made it difficult for me to see the practical applications of all of it and made me skeptical of how effective it could really be. But now that I’ve been in the field, I can see how everything becomes real when it is applied to a high school classroom. Meeting standards and personal progress really do matter more than A’s and B’s, and those letters and numbers do very little to give accurate feedback on how are students learning. When I become a teacher, I want to be one who is able to really help them learn things, and a big part of that is giving accurate grades that can move the learning process forward instead of stunt it, which is what happens when students put in hard work but are rewarding with only mediocre grades. The current grading system really is convoluted and inaccurate, and it is up to modern teachers to change it for the better. As a teacher, I will try my best to put into place systems that reward adequate content mastery and put emphasis on understanding tangible, practical concepts. Improving the way grades are reported also helps get parents more involved in education by giving them access to feedback that they can understand, and parental participation does wonders for a child’s achievement.